After a season that saw him start slowly, King Henrik has looked a bit more like himself down the stretch. According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Lundqvist said that’s no coincidence.

“Early in the season there were a couple of distractions. I’m not going to lie — the contract played a part,” said Lundqvist, who signed a seven-year, $59.5 million extension on Dec. 4 after also dealing with an early-season injury that remains unidentified. “When you add everything together, it was not perfect. It was the most challenging part of my entire career.”